The new safety and administration building should be completed by November 1st with Northfield Center Township administrative and safety forces taking up residence in the new digs by January 1st.
The $3 million building will house the township administrator, fiscal officer, township secretary, trustees and zoning department.
The building will also be home to Macedonia firefighters and officers from the Summit County Sheriff’s Department.
“It should accommodate all of our needs,” according to Andy LaGuardia, township fiscal officer. “The bottom line is that it will be functional and it’s a great setting.”
The building will be adjacent to the township’s road department.
“It really places the fire department in a good proximity to cover the Nordonia Hills District,” LaGuardia added.
According to Jim Honsberger, interim township administrator, the project is being financed by a 15-year bond at $3 million, as well as the sale of two township properties. The properties sold for $675,000 and $250,00O, respectively.
“We’ve got two properties left to sell,” Honsberger said. “We hope to raise another $500,000 to $750,000 between those two properties and I hope I’m really understating that.”
The township has been posting updated pictures of the construction progress every week or two on the township website, as well as general and emergency news, Honsberger added. Residents can sign up for email and text alerts on the website.
“The thing that I’ve heard the trustees say again and again and again is they want the most bang for the buck, for the taxpayers of Northfield Center,” Honsberger said. “It’s a beautiful setting and it was land that we owned and it’s going to be really functional for not only the township and the residents. But it’s going to be an update for the Sheriff and a big functional improvement for the fire department.”
Honsbeger said the building may not be as “stately” as some city halls in the area, but it will serve a greater purpose.
“It’s going to be more functional than Western Reserve style,” Honsberger said. “We want it to represent the community well. But it’s more functional than anything.”
Russ Mazzola is the township trustee chair and representative for police and fire services.
Mazzola and township trustees have been working closely on the project, which broke ground in the spring.
“It’s going to be all encompassing,” according to Mazzola. “We are calling it the Northfield Center Township Safety and Administration Building.”
Aside from administrative offices, the building will contain apparatus bays, a day room, sleeping quarters, a workout area and a kitchen for firefighters, Mazzola said.
“The current fire station is in pretty bad shape,” Mazzola added. “And we want to make sure we have the best facilities for our residents and our employees here at the township. That was the driving force.”
Macedonia Fire Chief Brian Brian Ripley described the project as a “vast improvement” over the current township facilities for his firefighters.
Macedonia is contracted for Northfield Center fire service through 2036, according to Honsberger. Macedonia is station No. 1, Sagamore is station No. 2 and Northfield Center is station No. 3.
“It’s going to be a healthier environment for them to work out of and it’s going to be a very functional building that should last the community for decades going forward,” Ripley said.
But that’s not all.
“There will be a police outpost for the Summit County Sheriff’s Office,” Mazzola said. “They will have their own entryway and separate space for whatever they need to do for their day-to-day operations.”
Also included in the plans are a 500-square-foot multipurpose room which will be used for trustee meetings.
“It’s going to be an amazing space for the township because it’s going to be all encompassing, it’s really going to be a nice facility”, according to Mazzola.
Mazzola described the overall project as an investment.
“We know it’s a lot of money, but it’s an investment. We are investing in our future in the township, we are investing in our first responders to give them the facility that they need, so when they are called upon, they have what they need to take care of our residents,” Mazzola said. “And it’s an investment in our community.”
